Belize or Grand Cayman?

jemmini6

H and I are trying to plan our 1st anniversary trip and we are torn between Belize and Grand Cayman.  We want to do a lot of diving since we didn't get to go on our HM (H dislocated his shoulder a week before our wedding) and we didn't get to go on our recent trip to Kauai (poor visibility due to rain), so we are definitely wanting somewhere that we know will have great diving.

If we go to Grand Cayman, we are looking at staying on the East End.  If we go to Belize, maybe Ambergris Caye?  We don't need 5 star accomodations, in fact, we usually like smaller places, not huge resorts.  Somewhere with diving included would be great. 

Any recommendations for either place? 

JCWhitey

Really tough choice!  We were actually debating between these two for our wedding.  In the end we chose Grand Cayman since legally it was easier, but I'd still love to go to Belize someday.  

Grand Cayman was absolutely gorgeous.  The water there is so blue, the beach we went to was amazing, and everyone we interacted with were nice and accommodating.  I wouldn't hesitate to go back there again, in fact we're already planning our return trip.  However, I'm not sure how good the diving would be there.  Obviously out at Stingray City you'll get some great interactions with sting rays, but other than that I'm not too familiar with the diving prospects there.  We also came via cruise ship so I'm no help with resorts!

In Belize we were looking at Ambergis Caye and Caye Caulker.  I like the idea of Caye Caulker because it's smaller and more remote but has some good diving spots from what my research told me.  So that's another place to look into.  In the end, however, we narrowed it down to the Jaguar Reef Lodge because their Barrier Reef offers some great diving/snorkeling opportunities.  So that's definitely one place to check out!  http://www.jaguarreef.com/en/index.html

cwaggoner07

I JUST got this email the other day for Belize, and it sounds perfect for what you're looking for.
Honestly, I don't even know if this is a referral link or not....
http://www.zozi.com/deals/2452?eb=1578&ed=2012-03-21&el=get&p=11&et=getaways

megannklein

Well I can't comment on Belize but I recently was in Grand Cayman during a cruise. While we were there our tour guide told us that the island is famous for scuba diving and that is their main tourist staple. So if you are interested in that, I think that Grand Cayman would be a fantastic option. Grand Cayman is very beautiful and the locals were super friendly. As stated above, the Sting Ray city is a must and 7 mile Beach is beautiful!

Your dollar may go further in Belize though, just and FYI that the Grand Cayman Dollar is stronger than the US Dollar.

RYLZ

The Mayan Pricness and Ramon's Village in Ambergris both have diving packages and add-ons.  We don't dive and have never stayed at either but we were just Honeymooning in Palau and hung out with a lot of divers who talked about their travels and these names came up.

daria24

I've never been to Grand Caymen so I can't speak about thatbut I loved Belize. However unless you want to go to the Blue Hole, my understanding is that diving in Belize is kinda pointless because the water is so shallow. You can see the best parts of the reef snorkeling. But we had an amazing time exploring the Mayan ruins, caving, etc so there ate lots of other awesome things to do.

teachermegs

We went to Belize last year for out honeymoon stayed at Captain Morgan's on  Ambergris Caye. My parent's have a timeshare there and there were some problems. They did have different trips during the week. We didn't do any diving because my H isn't certified and didn't want to try or go snorkeling. 

I haven't been to Grand Cayman in years, but I loved it when I went. I love snorkeling there when I went. I have seen awesome pictures of dives. We stayed at the same place on Seven Mile beach every time we went. 

If I wanted to go diving, I would go back to Grand Cayman and dive one of the walls. 

Magdala9

I visited both last both on a cruise.  Grand Cayman is much more posh and built up than Belize.  Belize was very unspoilt.  If you want more amenities, you should look into Grand Cayman.  If you are looking for unspoilt beauty, go for Belize. 

Wiscisbliss

http://www.anthonyskey.com/modules/resform_akr/form

MMRoberts11

Both places are great dive spots.  I would say just pick what you'd rather dive.  Check out some sites and go from there. 

xctennis

For Grand Cayman I'd recommend Turtle Nest Inn - doesn't include diving though.  It is much smaller than the resorts, apartment set up, right on the beach and we would absolutely go back there.